Financial news Irish Rail faces three more years in the red
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RISH Rail (IE) made a loss of ƒ20.9m in 2011 and is unlikely to return to profitability until 2016, according to the company’s latest annual report. Total turnover fell for the fifth successive year from ƒ190.2m to ƒ185.8m and passenger revenues slid 4.2% as demand for InterCity services declined and government subsidy for marginal services was cut back. Operating costs have fallen from ƒ410.4m in 2007 to ƒ352.1m as IE has implemented a cost reduction programme and downsized its workforce. The railway plans to shed a further 450 of its 4100 posts by 2016. IE says it remains cautiously optimistic about the long-term outlook, but its prospects depend on the successful delivery of its five-year recovery plan. IE’s financial difficulties
Victoria orders more Bombardier VLocity dmus
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HE Australian State of Victoria has ordered an additional 40 VLocity dmu vehicles from Bombardier at a cost of more than $A 200m ($US 209m) to accommodate anticipated further growth in ridership on regional services. The 160km/h vehicles will be assembled at Bombardier’s Dandenong facility near Melbourne with deliveries due to begin in 2014. V/Line already operates a fleet of 134 VLocity vehicles, but increasing passenger numbers and a recent expansion of the network have meant that almost the entire fleet is required to operate the timetable during peak periods. V/Line says the delivery of the additional vehicles will reduce pressure on
maintenance schedules and allow some two-car trains to be lengthened to three cars. The first VLocity entered service in December 2005 and the final set from the most recent batch was delivered in September 2011.
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RZD board approves sale of
Freight One stake
have contributed to the financial pressure on parent company CIE, which faces a cash crisis as revenues from rail and bus services and government support diminish. The government had pledged a ƒ36m bailout for CIE, but later ordered the company to
dispose of assets and increase borrowing to meet the shortfall. Transport minister Mr Leo
Varadkar has told CIE he expects to see a significant improvement in the
performance of its constituent companies this year.
Siemens wins ETCS equipment order S
WISS Federal Railways (SBB) has appointed Siemens to equip 230 rail vehicles operated by SBB Passenger, SBB Cargo, RegionAlps, Ferrovienord and SBB Infrastructure with onboard ETCS equipment. The Swiss Federal Transport
Office (BAV), in cooperation with SBB Infrastructure, recently launched a nationwide ETCS roll-out plan, which aims to adopt ETCS across the country’s entire standard-gauge network by 2025 at the latest. Siemens beat off competition from Bombardier and Alstom
infrastructure and vehicle manufacturer is predicting a slight growth in sales this year and expects its final operating result to be on a par with 2012. For 2012, Vossloh is forecasting group sales of around
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ƒ1.25bn compared with ƒ1.2bn in 2011 and an Ebit of about ƒ100m, which will be slightly better than in 2011 when the company achieved an Ebit of ƒ96.9m. However, Vossloh predicts that conditions will become
increasingly tougher in both markets in which it operates with strong competition for business. It also expects demand for rail welding services to remain weak.
to secure the contract, which is the second of three for the railway’s rolling stock to be let, with installations due to be completed by 2015. The previous contract for 480 vehicles was issued in 2003 with Alstom securing the contract for onboard
equipment installation, while Siemens carried out associated infrastructure work. A third tender to equip more rail vehicles with onboard ETCS will be issued in 2018, while suppliers of new rolling stock for Switzerland will have to install onboard ETCS equipment from July 1 2014.
Vossloh predicts some growth in 2013
HILE the business environment for both of Vossloh’s divisions is tougher than expected, the German rail
NDEPENDENT Transport Company (ITC) is set to complete its takeover of Freight One after the board of Russian Railways (RZD) approved the sale of its remaining 25% plus one share in the company. ITC, which is owned by Russia’s richest man Mr Vladimir Lisin, acquired 75% minus two shares in Freight One from RZD in October 2011 for Roubles 125.5bn ($US 4.1bn) and will pay Roubles 50bn for the remaining stake, making it the largest privatisation in the history of the Russian Federation. Meanwhile the board of RZD has also approved the sale of 75% minus two shares in locomotive and rolling stock maintenance unit Zheldorremash to Transmashholding subsidiary TMH-Service for Roubles 7.9bn. Only one other bidder, Lyudinovsky Diesel Locomotive Building Plant, participated in the share auction, which was held in August. In addition to signing the shareholder agreement, TMH-Service will also sign a five-year maintenance contract with RZD.
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Three consortia bid for Slovenian GSM-R contract
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LOVENIA’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Spatial Planning is assessing three bids to equip the rail network with a GSM-R network at an estimated cost of ƒ144.7m to which the European Union is contributing ƒ100m. The ministry expects to award the contract this month and wants the network to be operational within 30 months.
One consortium comprises Selex Elsag, Italy, Huawei, and Telekom Slovenije. Another consists of Nokia Siemens Networks with SPL Powerlines Telecommunication Services, Austria. The final consortium is made up of Kapsch CarrierCom, Slovenian telecommunications company Iskratel and GH Holding.
IRJ January 2013
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